Nadal, Federer square-up again

It8217;s Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in another Grand Slam final. Federer overwhelmed Sweden8217;s Jonas Bjorkman 6-2, 6-0, 6-2 in 77 minutes on Saturday...

It8217;s Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in another Grand Slam final. Federer overwhelmed Sweden8217;s Jonas Bjorkman 6-2, 6-0, 6-2 in 77 minutes on Saturday to close in on his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

With the loss of only four games by Federer, it was the most one-sided men8217;s semi-final at Wimbledon since the tournament adopted its current format in 1922. Nadal, the two-time French Open champion, continued his stunning run on grass by beating Marcos Baghdatis, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 to reach his first Wimbledon final.

Nadal has beaten Federer in four finals this year, including at the French Open last month, and has a 6-1 career edge. Federer is 55-0 against all other players this year. The 20-year-old Nadal is bidding to become the first Spaniard to win the title here since Manolo Santana in 1966, and the first player to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

It8217;s the first time since 1952 that the same players have reached back-to-back finals at the French Open and Wimbledon. While Federer came into the tournament as the overwhelming favourite, few expected Nadal to get very far. He8217;s won a record 60 straight clay-court matches but had little expectations in only his fifth grass-court event.

Nadal was close to tears after the match. 8220;I8217;m very emotional,8221; he said. 8220;It8217;s amazing to be in the finals.8221;

While Federer8217;s victory was lopsided, Nadal had to work extremely hard to hold off a spirited challenge from Baghdatis, the 21-year-old Australian Open runner-up from Cyprus. The match lasted just under two and a half hours, and the second set produced some of the best tennis of the tournament.

After putting away an overhead on match point, Nadal dropped to his knees, leaned back and pumped both arms three times. After the handshake, he went back to the center of the court, fell to his knees again and raised his arms as the crowd gave him a rousing ovation.

Paes/Damm loses

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WIMBLEDON: Leander Paes and his partner Martin Damm of the Czech Republic bowed out to their lower rated opponents in the men8217;s doubles semi-final at Wimbledon. The seventh seeds lost to Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic, who are seeded sixth, in straight sets 2-6, 1-6, 5-7. The Indian ace is still in contention in the mixed doubles event with Samantha Stosur. PTI

STEPHEN WILSON